1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a female terminal and a method for fabricating a female terminal.
2. Background Art
For example, when connecting together wiring harnesses in a motor vehicle, it is known that metallic male terminals and female terminals are accommodated separately in connector housings which are made of a synthetic resin so that the male and female terminals are fitted together for electric connection between both the wiring harnesses (refer to JP-A-2010-129358, for example). Demands for accommodation of more poles in a connector or demands for smaller connectors in size promote the tendency of reducing the thickness of a terminal (a metal plate) or the size of a terminal. In association with this tendency, higher strength is demanded for terminal materials. When a high-strength material is used, a working crack is formed in the material during the fabrication of a terminal, which leads to the deterioration in bendability of the high-strength material. Therefore, to cope with this problem, the bending radius is increased in general so as to suppress the deterioration in bendability of such a high-strength terminal material.